Moherman passes, runs Western Reserve to win
The senior ran for three TDs and passed for two in a 44-21 rout of Mathews.
By DOUG CHAPIN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
VIENNA -- Senior quarterback Brandon Moherman ran for three touchdowns and passed for two others as Western Reserve High defeated Mathews, 44-21, Friday night.
The Blue Devils return 19 starters from a year ago and it showed as they moved the ball almost at will in piling up a 44-7 lead.
"We are way ahead of the game compared to last year," fourth-year Devils coach Mike Kopachy said. "We've got pretty much our full package in on offense and we're able to do much more than in game one last year."
That season opener a year ago was a 20-14 overtime loss to Mathews. The Blue Devils haven't forgotten.
"We had 365 days to think about that loss and giving up a fourth-and-30. We wanted to make sure we got this season off to a good start," Kopachy said.
"We looked at this game like a must win against a playoff team from last year. They got what we want and we wanted to take it from them."
Blue Devils dominate
Western Reserve scored all sorts of ways in the first three quarters -- short fields, long drives, big plays, time-consuming possessions.
The first score, a 1-yard sneak by Moherman, was set up when Matt Kalbfell recovered a Mathews fumble at the Mustangs' 48. Moherman ran a quarterback counter play out of the Devils' standard shotgun formation and carried 41 yards down to the seven. Three plays later he scored on the sneak, taking the direct snap from center.
Mathews moved the ball before punting into the end zone and Western Reserve took over at the 20. Just over a minute later, the Devils were in the end zone again after three plays. A 22-yard gain on an out pass from Moherman to Kalbfell, a 40-yard gain on a swing pass to Mike Hahn and an 18-yard scamper around the right side by Jason Lude, who showed good patience on the run, waiting for his blockers to clear a lane.
That was a common theme as the Devils up front -- seniors Paul Henderson, Brad Lude, Sean Ferrando, Paul Hostetter, Chris Tofilski, and Quintin Kale, along with sophomore Joey Procick -- consistently provided running room.
"We've got a bunch of veteran guys up there, we have five returning starters and two others who have made starts," Kopachy said. "We are seven deep and if we stay healthy they can help us have a solid season."
Another Mathews punt after a decent drive pinned the Blue Devils on their 15, and a penalty put them back on the 8. Runs of 17 yards by Billy Speece, 23 yards by Moherman and 22 yards by Jason Lude pushed the ball into Mathews territory. The Devils had a touchdown pass called back because of a penalty and a run to the 3-yard line also was brought back for holding.
But Nate Lude turned a short hitch pass into a 15-yard gain and Moherman took the ball into the end zone from 8 yards out as Western Reserve built the lead to 19-0 with 6:09 remaining. Seven plays later, including two kickoffs, the score was 25-7 with 3:57 left in the half.
Mustangs get on board
The Mustangs' third-year starting quarterback Lucas Buckner hooked up with fellow junior Brad Hughes for a 67-yard pass play to put Mathews on the board.
Chris Truitt's 41-yard kickoff return put Western Reserve back in business and Moherman hit Truitt for a 20-yard scoring strike three plays later.
Moherman in the arms of a Mathews pass rusher when he found Truitt in the flat and the senior wideout did the rest.
Moherman, who was injured in the Devils' last scrimmage and almost was held out Friday night, connected with Truitt for 33 yards and with Kory Kasten for 26 more on a five-play drive for Western Reserve's fifth touchdown, a 2-yard run by Jason Lude with 52 seconds remaining before halftime.
In the third quarter, Jason Lude went in from 25 yards out on a swing pass from Moherman and the quarterback ran 15 yards for a score as the lead increased to 44-7. Mathews never quit and got two late scores on runs by Hughes and Brent Jackson.
"We came out and dominated our two scrimmages and continued that roll this week," Kopachy said. "If we keep improving we have a good shot at reaching our goals."
Leading the way
Moherman ran for 131 yards on 14 carries and was 7-of-9 passing for 181 yards. Jason Lude added 57 yards on eight carries. The Devils gained 238 yards on the ground and 181 in the air.
Buckner was 9-of-18 passing for 161 yards and ran 11 times for 87 yards. Eric Ocheltree ran hard inside for the Mustangs, gaining a tough 78 yards on 18 carries as Mathews finished with 190 rushing yards.